


Dichotomy of Water

by aislingyngaio



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-22
Updated: 2014-09-22
Packaged: 2018-02-18 09:27:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2343485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aislingyngaio/pseuds/aislingyngaio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zoisite awakens to the effects of Moon Healing Escalation. Coda to SMCrystal Act 6 Tuxedo Mask.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dichotomy of Water

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was inspired by [this tumblr post by nagisayuu](http://nagisayuu.tumblr.com/post/97964660389/also-zoi-was-hit-by-moon-healing-escalation).

He couldn't breathe.

He was drowning in his sleep.

_Calm, loving eyes like placid water, until it turned icy cold with the determination of a tidal wave._

_Her inner strength, hidden always behind gentleness and a crafty cunning. None of the others had appreciated this trait, this fascinating dichotomy of hers, nearly as much as he believed she deserved..._

_No, he must not be distracted! He must hurry and get the Prince away from--_

_Prince?_

He came awake with a gasp, even as vestiges of the exasperation and tinges of fear that accompanied that last thought washed over him, leaving him panting in a way that seemed alien to him.

_Had it all been a dream?_

"Good, you're awake," Kunzite's voice, authoritative yet slightly relieved, penetrated his concentration. Only then was he aware that he was back in the Dark Kingdom, on the floor of a hall close to the throne. He was glad, and ashamed to be so, that Jadeite and Nephrite - probably still nursing their injuries from their own battles - were both absent from witnessing this humiliating weakness.

"Kunzite, what happened? How did I get here?"

A frown marred his leader’s face. There wasn’t even a single teasing or sarcastic comment on what had to be a dismal performance from the silver-haired man, which unsettled him greatly. “I don’t know. Queen Beryl… she appeared with you, and then…” Kunzite paused, struggling to continue, before finally shrugging helplessly, completely at sea as well. Their Queen had always kept her own counsel; they were, after all, merely her humble servants. Her _shitennou_.

_Prince…_

Zoisite massaged his forehead at the unbidden thought, squinting unseeingly into the vast darkness of emptiness around them. He remembered being granted the task of collecting energy and, if possible, finding the Legendary Silver Crystal. He remembered using the Television programme to broadcast a mind-control signal to the populace of Tokyo. He had triggered the energy collection when the search attempt had ultimately been proved futile. And then…

_Eyes as tempestuous as the water she manipulated…_

_Cold, unfeeling logic triumphing over him where passion and strength could not._

He had been forced to release his full power to subdue them after being caught in her web of ice. Queen Beryl had been so pleased at his success that she had descended personally to rejoice, and he had been smugly satisfied at completing what Jadeite and Nephrite did not… despite always being overlooked himself.

Just like her. He knew only too well what it meant to be underestimated. How it delighted him to be the first to bring glory to their Kingdom.

But then… _pain_. Excruciating _pain_.

Zoisite remembered now, trembling slightly even as he remembered how he had jumped in front of Queen Beryl to take the blast of light. That fourth girl had come, the Senshi who wielded no elemental power of her own. She who had wielded the Crescent Stick.

“That witch of the White Moon,” he whispered subconsciously.

A sharp gasp drew his attention back to his companion, whom had heard his quiet epithet. “What did you say?” Kunzite asked, almost as quietly as Zoisite did. Almost afraid to voice it out loud.

“Sailor Moon. It was Sailor Moon. I don’t know how, but I felt immense power from her. She attacked us and...” Zoisite didn’t understand why Kunzite looked so shaken at his information, not realizing his earlier slip of the tongue. “It may be her that we need to focus on first. She is the key to the Sailor Senshi, I think.”

_If I take her out of the equation, will you still have a hidden ace up your sleeve to play, my clever strategist?_

Kunzite had to swallow twice at the unnerving feeling of déjà vu he’d experienced at Zoisite’s accidental words. Desperately pulling the cloak of leadership back on his shoulders, he nodded assent at his blonde friend. “In that case, if you’re feeling rested enough, she’s asked to see you the moment you came to.”

Zoisite nodded back, even as he tried to put his trepidation at his still vivid and odd memory-dream out of his mind. “I’ll be going now.”

_And this time, I will best you at your own game, Lady Mercury!_

_\- Finis -_


End file.
